Along the way to the career record, Henry broke Alabama's single-season rushing mark of 1,679 yards that had been established by Trent Richardson in 2011.

While Alabama and Clemson were playing on Monday night, Richardson appeared on Fox Sports' "Outkick The Show." In speaking with the show's Monday hosts - Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Clay Travis - Richardson said Henry had "some lateral movement to work on," but he otherwise thought the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner would "be very explosive" and "great in the NFL."

Richardson also had advice for Henry.

"I think Derrick can be a great running back," Richardson said. "He just needs to stay level-headed. Make sure he don't have the wrong people around because that can eat you up real fast. That can eat you up real fast having the wrong people around you. Most of the time it's not about the person playing football, but the people that's around him. ...You just got to be smart about the situation that you get yourself in. As far as football-wise, I think he's a great running back because he works hard."

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Richardson finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting the season that he set the Alabama single-season rushing record. Cleveland used the third pick in the 2012 NFL Draft on Richardson, but the Browns traded him two games into his second season to the Indianapolis Colts. After two seasons with the Colts, Richardson was released after the 2014 season. He went to training camp with the Oakland Raiders, but was cut before the start of the 2015 campaign and did not play during the season.

Richardson said the NFL hadn't seen the last of him.

"When I get back in this league, they're going to hate me," Richardson said. "They're going to love me, but they're going to hate me because I'm going to come back. ... And I can't wait until I get back."